Buddies and Experiences
What is a Buddy, and is a Buddy a tour guide?
A Buddy is a verified local who shares the city they already live in. They show you the food, the coffee, the sport or the language practice that is part of their week. A Buddy is not a licensed tour guide, and an Experience is not a tour: licensed tour guiding is not offered. It is time with a local, for travel and social experiences only. Anything outside that scope can be reported and is grounds for removal from the platform.
Which languages do Buddies speak?
Every Buddy profile lists the languages that Buddy speaks, beside their photos, verification status and reviews. Match My Vibe lets you start from a preferred language: English, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Japanese or French. For a Premier trip, our team matches you for your language when preparing your options. Comfort Buddies can be compared by language, availability, experience and location. Translation and getting you understood is part of what every Experience price covers.
What are Rising and Premium Buddies?
Buddy Level is a commercial standing on the Experience side. It decides Experience package pricing and nothing else. Every approved Buddy starts as a Rising Buddy: verified, approved and still building their booking and review history. Premium recognises Buddies with strong experience, reliability and consistently excellent guest feedback. It is decided by our team, cannot be chosen and is not guaranteed. A level is never a safety approval: Comfort and Family work needs its own separate review.
How do I become a Buddy?
Start your application in the Buddy portal from the Become a Buddy page. It takes about 15 minutes, your answers are saved as you go, and you can finish later. You upload between 3 and 10 clear photos of yourself, and you can add a short introduction video. Our team checks every application before a profile goes live. You choose your own available days and times, and which Experiences you offer. You are never asked to publish your phone number or address.
Booking and paying
How do I book a buddy?
Choose the profile that fits your plan, review the listed service options, and send a Booking Request with your date and time. Nothing is paid online. Once your Buddy confirms, you will receive the details by email and in your booking summary.
Can I request a specific type of hangout?
Yes. You can mention the kind of plan you want during booking, such as coffee, nightlife, a city walk, or an event. Requests are reviewed based on availability, listed services, and suitability.
Where do we meet?
Every Experience starts at an approved public meeting place that both of you can see on the booking. Public and managed venues only: private homes, hotel rooms and other private rooms cannot be booked. Karaoke happens in approved shared or public rooms only. Chat stays inside the website, so you never need to share your phone number to arrange the spot. On a Premier trip, your Buddy meets you in your hotel lobby on the first morning.
How much does it cost and what is included in the price?
Hangout Buddy Experiences have a fixed price per length: 3, 4, 6 or 8 hours, set by the Buddy Level. Each profile shows the full price before you send a Booking Request: the Buddy fee, the Company Share and estimated extra spending. It covers your Buddy for the whole booking: their time, local planning and help on the day, and translation. Food and drinks, transport, entrance tickets and anything you choose to buy are not included. Activity Experiences, group trips and Premier are quoted rather than listed.
When do I pay?
After the experience, in cash, directly to your Buddy. There is no card payment, no deposit and no online checkout, so there is never anything to refund. The price you see when you book is the price you hand over at the end.
What if I need to change or cancel a booking?
Use your booking confirmation details to contact support as early as possible. The outcome depends on how close the request is to the scheduled time and whether the booking has already been finalized.
What happens if my Buddy cancels?
You are never out of pocket, because nothing is paid until after the Experience. If a Buddy cannot attend, the booking goes back to our team rather than being reassigned automatically. You are then shown exactly what happens next: a replacement Buddy, or the booking closed with no cash due. If a Buddy does not show up, no cash is due either. Contact support with your booking reference for an update while the booking is still active.
Safety and trust
Do you verify profiles?
Profiles are reviewed before being published, and platform rules apply to conduct, representation, and account quality. Additional checks may happen when a listing, booking, or report needs review.
How are Buddies verified?
Identity and a selfie match are recorded before a Buddy can appear or receive bookings. The verified badge only shows after that check is complete. Our team also reviews the photos, bio, languages and the Experiences each applicant selects. Scooter Experiences need an approved driving licence and an approved photo of the scooter. Premier Buddies are interviewed as well as ID-checked. Comfort and Family Buddies go through additional approval before offering those services. Only a completed booking can leave a public review.
Is it safe for a solo female traveller?
This is what is in place on every booking. The first meeting is always in a public place approved for the booking, and both people see the same spot. Buddies are identity-checked before they appear. Chat happens inside the website, so your phone number stays private. Both people confirm arrival and safe completion, with the time recorded. A Safety and Support button on every booking reaches a real person. Only completed bookings can leave reviews. In an emergency, the Safety page lists the local emergency numbers first.
What should I do if I feel uncomfortable or unsafe?
Leave the situation if needed and contact support immediately with the booking reference and a short description of what happened. Cases involving trust and safety are escalated ahead of routine questions.
Premier, Comfort and groups
What is HangoutBuddy Premier?
Premier is the trip that is handled for you. One local person plans your days, books the tables and the car, and meets you at your hotel. You just show up. It is built for families, business trips and friends here to relax. Tell us your dates and who is coming; there is no payment to request. We send a plan and a clear quote, with cars, tables and tickets shown separately. You choose your Buddy before anything is confirmed. Every Premier Buddy is interviewed and ID-checked.
Can I book for a group or my family?
Yes. The Private Family Experience is a family day designed around your energy and needs. It includes car or van comfort, child-friendly pacing, rest stops and weather backups. The Group and Company Experience covers friends, teams, companies and celebrations, with transport, local hosts, timed routes and one clear quotation. Both are quoted rather than listed, and you get the full price in writing before anything is confirmed. Premier also plans whole trips for families and groups of friends.
What is the Comfort Experience?
Comfort Experience helps when you cannot be beside someone you care about yourself. A Comfort Buddy spends meaningful time with an older parent or adult relative: conversation, meals, walks, errands, appointments and hospital visits. A Family Buddy is another responsible person to spend time with, accompany or supervise someone in your family. Both are approved separately from other Buddies. A Comfort Buddy is not a doctor, nurse or therapist; Professional Clinical Care is coming separately. You can rebook the same Buddy whenever they are available.
Can a Buddy help with a hospital visit or an older relative?
Yes, through a Comfort Buddy. For a hospital or clinic visit, a Comfort Buddy travels there with your loved one. They help with everyday communication and logistics, wait with them and help contact family. This is non-medical company only: no injections, wound care, monitoring, treatment or medication decisions. For an appointment, they help with transport, wait beside the person and never interpret results. Hospital accompaniment is priced as a half day or a full day. Request it through the Comfort request form.
Planning your trip
What is Match My Vibe?
Match My Vibe is a four-question quiz that shows you the three most suitable Buddies and why. You choose your preferred language and tick what you are into: coffee, food, nightlife, history, photos, shopping or music. Then pick your energy and your budget level. Each match comes with the reasons it fits and a link to that profile. If everyone matching your vibe is booked, you can tell us what you like and we will find you someone.
Do you operate outside Ho Chi Minh City?
Bookings are launching in Ho Chi Minh City with carefully selected Buddies. Every package on the site is built around this city. The Vietnam guide covers the whole country: the regions, what things cost, how to get around and where else to go. Ho Chi Minh City is the finished guide; the rest is orientation notes for now. If your plans are for another city, ask support before you travel.
Can I use the site in my language?
Yes. The site can be read in 11 languages. Open the language menu at the top of any page and choose yours; the same page opens in that language. If you would rather read in English and speak your own language on the day, every Buddy profile lists the languages that Buddy speaks. Translation and getting you understood is part of what every Experience price covers.
Do I need a visa for Vietnam?
We do not state visa rules on this page, because they are national, change over time and depend on your passport. The Vietnam guide has a visa and entry section covering the national rules, the 2025 reform, the e-visa and a checker for your passport. Every claim there carries its government source and the month we last checked it. Anything we could not verify is left out and said out loud, never filled in with a guess. Start there before you book flights.
Next best pages
If your question is not covered here, the help center and support hub go deeper on process, response times, and account guidance.